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Dossier
Founder of Silk RoadEarly adoption✓ Verified
Ross Ulbricht
Ran the marketplace that gave Bitcoin its first real demand.
Known as Dread Pirate Roberts, Ross UlbrichtActive Feb 2011 →
Why they matter
Silk Road was Bitcoin's first true "killer app" — driving enormous early demand and notoriety, and forcing the world to reckon with permissionless money.
Profile
Founder (as "Dread Pirate Roberts") of Silk Road, the darknet marketplace launched in 2011 that used Bitcoin for payments. It was shut down by the FBI in 2013 and Ulbricht imprisoned; he was pardoned in 2025.